Archive for March, 2008
Today we took a tour of Glen Canyon Dam. Since my dad works for the Feds, he set us up with the “hard-hat” tour! It was really cool. I was still worried about Jamie after yesterday, and my mom had taken the tour before, so she graciously offered to stay up top with him while Rees and I took the tour with the family.
Our guide was great - he let Rees really participate by pushing various buttons, swiping his security badge, and managing the hard hats. We got to see turbines, cranes, the infamous patch of bluegrass, and enter areas of the dam not seen in the “normal” tour. I have lots of pictures, maybe I’ll post them eventually. 
We had a picnic lunch on the shore of Lake Powell. Afterward, Dad & Ted went kayaking and my mom and I headed to Monument Valley to find our rooms and let the kids nap. We are staying at Goulding’s Lodge tonight. By the time I got my reservations, the lodge was full, so I ended up reserving a single-wide trailer at the campground. It is awesome. Clean, tons of space, an extra bedroom, full kitchen, laundry, flatscreen TV and DVD player, and wireless internet. Love it! We had a quick dinner at the dining room before heading to bed early.
March 25th, 2008
I’ve never done as much Hansen family bonding as we’ve done in the last year. Today, the boys and I caravaned with my parents to Page, AZ, to meet up with Uncle Ted, Aunt Janet, and my Grandma. The drive was an all-day affair. Jamie had some intestinal trouble on the way down that made for a sometimes unpleasant ride, and a late night of laundry-washing for me when we finally arrived at the hotel. Ugh. Hopefully this resolves itself very soon; otherwise, we may have to cut this trip short.
March 24th, 2008
Today is Easter Sunday. We had our Easter lessons in Primary, and the boys enjoyed playing with their bunny ears and wore new Easter clothes. We didn’t do any kind of Easter baskets or gifts for them, since Bryan’s parents have an egg hunt planned for later today. I don’t really want to overload the kids with secular junk on this holiday. That makes me sound kind of like a religious freak, which I’m not. I just get annoyed when the commercial industry tries to take over religious celebrations and convince people that they need to buy a bunch of junk for yet another holiday. Cynical, no?
After church, we went to the Berretts for their famous Easter egg hunt. The kids are each assigned a color and size of egg (they each get four), and the eggs are hidden with appropriate difficulty for each child’s age. There are lots of boulders with great nooks and crannies for hiding eggs, so it can be tough. Bob also hides one egg for each daughter-in-law, and he goes all-out. One year, he was so clever that he forgot where he hid Shantell’s egg, and nobody else could find it either. It remained hidden for years.
My egg this year was metallic gold, and was the last to be found. After much searching by all, it was finally located by Brent in the water fountain near the front door. The egg was first placed in a zipper-seal sandwich bag. This bag was then placed in a gallon-size zipper-seal bag with a large rock (to hold it underwater), which was placed in the fountain and covered with a decorative frog statue from the garden. Classic Bob.
The kids had so much fun with the hunt, and eating all the candy afterward. It’s a really fun tradition.
March 23rd, 2008
Tonight we watched No Country For Old Men. I love me some Coen Brothers, but man, this movie is dark. And super-violent and tense. I liked it, it had great performances, but it’s definitely not for repeat viewing.
March 20th, 2008
The insurance company took their time, but the Subaru has finally been totaled. Luckily, we broke even on the whole situation. And, the wrecking company agreed to let us remove the custom wheels from the car (apparently they were not figured into the value). Bryan and Bob spent the afternoon at the wrecking yard getting the wheels, which we’ll be able to sell for a significant amount.
We’ll miss the car - we’ve really enjoyed it and would buy another just like it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, they’re not too common, so it’s time to choose something new.
March 15th, 2008
Many months ago (maybe a year?), Liz loaned me, and suggested I read, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. After just spending over a year reading my last book, it was a nice change of pace. It is very easy-to-read, short, and interesting. I liked it a lot, and it only took me a few hours (spread out over days, of course) to finish.
Next up - A Short History of Nearly Everything, another gift from my dad. I don’t usually read non-fiction, but I’m up for it.
March 14th, 2008
It’s taken me forever, but I’ve finally finished What Is The What?, which I started last year. It took me some time to get going on the book due to the rhythm - it tells two stories about the same person, one in the present tense and one through memories (his current life in America and his youth in Africa). I had difficulty getting involved in the two stories, but once I got going, I enjoyed it and finished it up. I’m glad I read it. There have been criticisms of the fictional nature of the stories, but that doesn’t really matter to me.
Read about Valentino Achak Deng (the subject of the book) and his foundation on his website.
March 9th, 2008
Bryan was in a semi-serious car accident tonight in the Subaru. “Semi”, in that he was not injured, “serious” in that the car is not driveable, and is possibly totaled. The driver of the other vehicle was also unharmed.
I was calm as I packed up the kids to go pick him up; he didn’t give me details over the phone, but since he wasn’t going to the hospital, I could assume that he wasn’t hurt. But as I approached the intersection where the crash happened, I started to get emotional. The whole intersection (90th S & Sandy Pkway) was basically blocked with emergency vehicles with flashing lights. I quickly parked the Mazda and got out to watch the Subaru loaded onto the tow vehicle. I was beyond grateful that Bryan was walking toward me in one piece instead of in a hospital or morgue. That whole scene is burned in my memory. I really hate to think about what losing him would do to our family. Love you, Bry.
March 5th, 2008
Today the Hansen family (sans kids & Sarah) went to see U2 3D together, at my dad’s urging. It was really cool. I have seen U2 live on tour three times - PopMart (Rice Stadium, 1997), Elevation (Delta Center, 2001), and Vertigo (Delta Center, 2005).
The movie very closely approximates the feeling of a live U2 concert. Yes, it’s preachy. Yes, Bono is melodramatic. Yes, I loved every minute of it.
March 1st, 2008